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Palette Dining Studio
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: Downtown Detroit
MGM Grand Detroit
1777 3rd St
Detroit, MI 48226
(877) 888-2121
MGM Grand Detroit
1777 3rd St
Detroit, MI 48226
(877) 888-2121
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
6 reviews for Palette Dining Studio
On the occasion of my birthday my parents decided to treat me to an experience that I would never treat myself to. It was a morning of gambling followed by Sunday Brunch at the MGM Grand Casino's buffet. Yes indeed I come from foodie stock just not budget minded individuals. I am indeed a genetic anomoly but in my defense I also make a lot less money too.
The MGM Grand is a lovely casino. They are also home to the foodie legend Wolfgang Puck's restaurant. I did admire the place but the prices there were something that did indeed make my heart race a bit faster. The menu though was utter bliss. It was hard to walk away but I did not feel I would survive the bill if indeed I did dine.
We chose to dine at Palette, which is one of my parent's faves. It is a very nice buffet indeed. They have just about everything one could hope to find in a top notch all you can eat atmosphere. I did a tour of the restaurant before I even started and was impressed with the array. It also helped me plan what to eat and what not to bother with.
I started at the seafood table. I quickly decided very small portions of everything was the order of the day in order to try as much as possible. The shrimp ceviche was fresh and had nice bite. The fried shrimp and catfish were fine but nothing super special, although they were refilled and piping hot so that is impressive. The lobster mac and cheese was rich but tasty. The tilapia was lovely with the crab topping, the cod was happy with its rich lemon butter sauce. The salmon was ok with the pineapple teriyaki glaze. The peel and eat shrimp and oysters on the half shell were fresh and had all the lovely accessories needed to fully enjoy them. The asian crab salad was a bit too veggie and not enough crab for me though. I was also sad no sushi, they really could use some.
I followed this with a half a fresh bagel with cream cheese, lovely smoked salmon with capers, eggs, onion, tomato and cucumber. They have everything you may need to go with anything, I was happily surprised. I also had a bite of the different types of breads dipped into special dipping sauces. The sauces were ok, the various bread was very nice indeed.
I moved on to more carnivorous fare next. The brisket was falling apart and just happy. The lamb was a bit tough but had good flavor. The pork was shredded and nice. The rotisserie chicken was lovely and fresh off the spit. I sampled a slider on a homemade roll that was awesome after I mixed up some ketchup, onion and mustard to put on it. They had four different types of sausage, kielbasa was my fave but I am partial. I swiped some excellent chicken and veggie dumplings from the Asian table too, unimpressed with the pink dipping sauce I found a good aged soy at the end of the line, definitely a good call there.
I cannot wax more poetically on the perfection of the bacon here. Thick sliced and pressed flat. Perfectly done, neither too crisp nor too floppy. I could have eaten a pound of it. Heavenly. It gets it's own section here as I was that enraptured by it.
Believe it or not I managed to save room for dessert. I must tell you I am not a huge dessert girl, particularly after I eat a big meal. That is not a problem for me here. Heck next time I may start with dessert, it is really awesome. I had a small ramekin of gelato, the to die for tiramisu variety and the merely dreamy vanilla. I also took advantage of the chocolate dipped treats. The fruit was amazing, except I did not care for the canteloupe with the chocolate. The strawberries and pineapple were more than acceptable though. They had cheesecake on a stick dipped in the same chocolate and it was utter bliss. I was over the moon to find chcolate dipped pretzels and a chocolate covered peanut butter bar too. I was sad the creme brulee had a butterscotch flavor but the delightful caramel flan satisfied my need for creamy.
Yes I did indeed make quite a pig of myself. I don't regret a bite. It was fun and frivilous and so perfect. The bonus of a buffet is if you do not like something you can move on until you do. There were way more hits than misses to be had. Nothing was glaringly bad and several things were simply fabulous. I will be back.
Besides I guess I am lucky. I hit for forty bucks on a penny machine (did you have any doubts I would be a cheap gambler too?) before I left ;).
I would never go there for dinner. But come on it's probably the best selection of food you can get for a sunday brunch, especially if you're tired of stereotypical breakfasts. I thought it was $28 pp when I went?
Damn near a 1-star, shame on you Palette, trying to ruin MGM's good name!
I went here on V-day with my wife and her family (I know, how romantic). We were actually taking mom out for her b-day, and this is where she wanted to go. Why exactly, is beyond me.
I didn't think that this place would be that busy on V-day, but sure enough there was a line when we went. We ended up waiting about 30 minutes, which wasn't bad because we weren't too hungry when we got there, so the waiting actually helped.
I have to be honest, for as many different stations as they had, hardly anything impressed me. They have an American station that has steaks and such, a "soul food" section that lacks fried chicken (??????), a seafood station that had two types of sushi (woooo hoooo), a bread station that had... bread, and an Asian section that made Meijer Chinese food look appetizing. They also have a Mongolian bbq like station where you can create your own dishes (just what I wanted to do, go out and cook my own food!).
The only redeeming part of this buffet was the dessert station. A decent variety of cakes, mousses, cookies, crepes and such. For me, the best part of my meal was the coconut and caramel gelato. Too bad they don't sell the gelato on site, because the $32 price tag seems a bit much for just gelato.
Overall- if you get a comped meal, or you happen to be drunk, you may enjoy this place, otherwise, go down the road to OCB and save a few bucks for the same meal.
Movie Star Rating- Billy Baldwin
On Wednesdays for $32 you can get all you can eat snow crab legs. I ate the legs of 5 crabs (that's 50 legs plus some stray claws). Towards the end, with crab particles scattered everywhere, and butter dripping down my chin, I was in some sort of crab coma.
I noted and browsed the rest of the selection. Everything else is just bleh, OK, whatever buffet food. The wok station looks like it has the freshest and best ingredients. Everything else is geared towards fat/carb loving Detroiters.
The desserts were surprisingly gross. They look good! But there is no way those were made in house. I am pretty sure they were made in some off site Cysco like company. And they didn't have pistachio gelato. The dessert station usually never fails me like this! Maybe it was the 50+ crab legs I just gorged myself on...
About $26 for the buffet.
Appreciate the welcoming, cozy ambience.
A star for cleanliness.
A star for service.
Food = never going back. It was bland and barely edible. It was about 11:30pm when I went. I did consider the time, but they kept refilling the trays. I tried the duck in the Asian section, when a new batch came out, it was cold.
The first time I went, I thought it was good....but I forgot...I was drunk!
Yes $26 for the buffet. Great service, modern decor, definitely clean. I disagree with Cherese's review - I thought the food was good. Nothing that would knock your socks off but it's a great selection - asian, seafood, grills, dessert bar, gourmet cheeses, salads, and the list goes on. If you like buffets, this is probably the nicest buffet you can find in Detroit. I thought their food was better than Wolfgang Pucks also in MGM.
